Black Widow
by Ed's Electric Frankfuter
Summary: Both Zim and Dib are being ensnared by the mysterious Web's charms, but is she really human? Or is she irken? Find out in this tale filled with romance, horror, suspense, and a twist at every corner. **Ch 5 is now up!**
1. Prologue - Diary of an Alien Hunter

Black Widow

by Implosion

Disclaimer - Invader Zim and all related characters are copyright property of Jhonen Vazquez and Nickelodeon Studios. They are not mine. Yet... =)

Author's Notes - All I have to say for the moment is a big thanks to all those people who reviewed my poem, "Dolls". I've been writing poetry for years and I never thought it was good, but you guys proved me wrong. ^_^ Thanks for that, and if you haven't read it yet, read it NOW! (shameless plug... _) It's fortified with poetic goodness, and 10 out of 10 reviewers say they prefer reading the poem other than being spread with jelly then eaten alive by ants! =) I am so evil. lol. -=Implosion=-

Prologue ~ Diary of an Alien Hunter

Dib lay on his bed, a small black book sitting in front of him. It was time to record his thoughts from the past few days...a lot of weird stuff had happened that had prevented him from writing in his diary, and, as strange as it sounds, this time it wasn't because he was chasing Zim. "I haven't been after Zim for quite a while, as a matter of fact..." He thought as he picked up a pen. "I guess that's why I almost lost intrest in my goal. Hunting aliens is the only thing that's kept me sane since mom...went away." Dib gulped as he tried to hold back the tears. He usually tried not to think about when his mom died, as his life had been a mess since then. The only thing that kept him sane was his obsession with the paranormal...like Gaz with her GameSlave or Prof.Membrane with his work. Realising he was rambling again, he opened the book, being greeted with the usual grotesque drawings at the sides of the pages, all of them featuring Zim on an autopsy table, his insides dissected, being watched by fascinated (and shocked) scientists. 

"Dear Journal.." he started, before sucking on his pen as he thought what to write. 

"I know I haven't recorded my progress with Zim for a few days, but that's because of an incident that happened the day after my last entry. I'll never forget what happend. Who would've thought that it all started so innocently? Who would've thought it started when she walked into my life...."


	2. Chapter One - Enter, the Predator...

Chapter One ~ Enter, the Predator...

It was yet another 'normal' day at skool, "If you can call having an alien in your class normal..." thought a raven-haired boy with glasses and a trenchcoat, who was giving another boy with puke-green skin across the room angry glares every few minutes. Class was just starting, and Dib was now waiting for Ms.Bitters to start one of her "Doom Lectures", so he could get back to drawing plans to save the human race. But instead of starting another long-winded speech about how they were all worthless and stupid, the teacher had something else planned before they started.

"Class..." she hissed through clenched teeth, the resulting noise resembling that of a rattlesnake. "We have a new useless student joining our class today." The door opened as if on command, and a girl walked in. "This is Web..." She said the new girl's name like it was something she'd found stuck to her shoe, before instrucing her to sit down...next to Dib.

As Ms.Bitters was introducing Web, Dib couldn't help but stare. Her short, black hair was neatly cut, and had a single white streak running though the middle. Her pale face, with two dark purple eyes was framed with oval glasses. And she had a trenchcoat, pants, boots...all black like his, and a black T-shirt that was covered with a large white spider web design. "She's...She's..." Dib struggled to think of a word as half-formed thoughts ran amok within his mind....all he could feel was the desire, the need to devour her image with his eyes...

"Hello." Dib snapped out of his trance almost instantly as Web's voice broke the silence. "You must be Dib." she said, smiling, as he turned around. "Y-y-yes, th-that's me..." he spluttered, before quickly looking at the floor. "What's wrong with me?" he asked himself in a voice barely above a whisper, his heart beating so hard it was like someone was hitting his ribcage with a sledgehammer. Emotions he thought he didn't have interrupted him, and he decided to try and think about something else. Sweating even more than usual, Dib turned towards his nemesis, Zim, who was balancing a pencil on the tip of his non-existant nose in a bored sort of way, as if nothing had happened. "Are you OK?" Web's face seemed to appear out of nowhere. Dib gave a suprised yelp and looked out of the window, and he didn't see what Web was doing when his back was turned..

Realising her chance, the trenchcoated girl scribbled something down on a piece of paper, screwed it up into a ball, and threw it at Zim's head. She mouthed a silent "Yesss!" as it hit Zim in the side of the head, knocking the pencil off balance and onto the floor. The Irken invader snarled as he clutched the missile in his hand, angry that someone had disturbed his planning. "Whatever this this is, it had better be worthy enough to disturb THIS invader..." he thought as he unfolded it, and gave a gasp of suprise. "This...this is written in Irken script!" Zim hissed quietly, so Dib wouldn't hear. "But how...who?! These pathetic monkeys can't write in Irken...unless..." He scanned the note closely, trying to figure out who it was from. "Hello, fellow invader." it read. "Meet me by the waste storage units, or "dumpsters" as they are called here, at the back of the skool once the last bell sounds. - Web." The alien looked towards Web, who winked at him and gave a sly smile. "Finally!" he said gleefully as he smiled back, wringing his hands in evil delight. "Finally I'll be able to get that wretched Dib-human out of my antennae for good!!"

Web, however, still smiled sinisterly as she faced the front of the classroom. It was only a matter of time. He was playing right into her hands...


	3. Chapter Two - Sugar Laced With Poison

Author's Notes - I'm back again with chapter two, and some more notes. Daz, if you're reading this, I'd like to thank you for pointing out that typo in my summary...-_-; I WAS typing it at 11:30 PM, so you can't really blame me. I was tired, I was bored, AND I NEEDED SUGAR! _ Bleh. Anyhoo, enough insanity...on with the fic. -=Implosion=-

Chapter Two ~ Sugar Laced With Poison

Dib breathed a sigh of relief as the bell for recess finally rang, after what seemed like an eternity. "Get out of here and go outside so your doomed skin can burn in the sun's harmful rays..." hissed Ms.Bitters as she pointed to the door, and nobody seemed to notice that what she said made no sense, as it was very cloudy outside and looked as if it was going to rain. The bespectacled boy had just turned to leave, when he felt someone grab his arm and pull him backwards. "Meet me near the Jungle Gym..." an all-too-familiar female voice whispered in his ear.. "And come ALONE.". "Web?" he said as he whipped round to face the girl, but found nothing there. "I wonder what she wants...?" Dib asked himself, then shuddered at the possibilities. He didn't want to think about THAT, the very idea of being kissed by a girl made him sick to his stomach. "OUT, Dib!!" shouted Ms.Bitters as he broke out of his trance. Realizing he'd been standing there for quite a while, he ran as fast as he could out the door, his trenchcoat flapping like a banner behind him.

Meanwhile, Zim was already outside, thinking to himself as he sat alone on one of the swings. He was starting to have doubts about Web's claims of being an Irken Invader, like he was. "Why would the tallest send another invader to earth? Am I not doing well enough?" the green one thought to himself as he swung gently back and forth. "NO, by Irk! This mission was meant to be MINE, and mine alone!" This thought cheered him up slightly, but then his mood dropped back to what it was as another thought appeared, like there was an argument going on within his head. "But I haven't made ANY progress at all...thanks to that filthy human..." Zim shouted an Irken curse word out loud without realizing it, as he thought of all the problems Dib had caused him, and didn't even blink as almost everyone on the playground looked in his direction. The alien shook his head. "Even if there is another invader on Earth, she's probably here to help me, not replace me.." he said, but his words stopped for a second as an immense feeling of dread overwhelmed him. "I hope.."

The raven-haired boy looked to his left, then to his right. He was standing by the Jungle Gym, like Web had asked him to, but where was she? He looked around for her again, then paused as he thought he saw a glint out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head around slowly and gulped. "I don't know what that was, but it can't be good..." he frowned, as he scanned the place where he saw whatever it was glint in the sunlight. Dib gasped as a shadow streaked past behind the Jungle Gym....his heart was beating faster and faster...he felt as if a thousand pairs of eyes were staring at him from all directions, watching his every move. There was no escaping it...he was trapped. Trapped like a rat in a cage...

Dib yelled as someone, or something, pulled on the hem of his black trenchcoat and started to drag him into the shadows. He tried to wriggle out of his coat, but was then pinned against a wall by a strong hand, the other hand covering his mouth to stop him from calling for help. Shaking like a leaf in a storm, he closed his eyes tightly shut as a bright red light almost blinded him for a split-second. "Good, he's clean.." The raven-haired boy risked opening one eye as he heard Web's voice, and breathed a sigh of relief as she took her hand off his mouth. He also noticed Web was wearing a visor over her glasses, which was an exact duplicate of the X-scope he'd used when Zim was stealing organs. "I ordered it from Crop Circles magazine. Sorry if I scared you." "You're strong, for a girl..." Dib blushed as he realized what he'd said, but was suprized when she responded not with a frown, but with a smile. "Thanks." the black-clad girl said bluntly to the quivering boy. "Anyway, you can relax, Dib. I'm not gonna hurt you now I know you're not one of them." Web's expression became more serious as she took the X-scope off, and whispered "You can never be too careful..." Dib just nodded in response, as he was a bit lost for words, but gasped again as the girl suddenly whipped round. "Enough small talk, let's just get down to business.." she said sharply, in a way that reminded Dib of his sister, Gaz.

The bespectacled boy watched as Web started pacing back and forth, only turning to look at him once every few sentences. "I know about you, Dib. I know that I'm not the only one who's noticed Zim's not of this world. I know about your battles together, and I know about how that green slimeball intends to enslave humanity and take over Earth." The trenchcoated girl stopped to face Dib, who was opening his mouth to speak. "But how did you...?" his sentence was stopped abruptly by a raised hand. "I have my ways." she seemed to laugh the words as she spoke through her sweet, yet demonic smile. "I brought you here because I have devised a little plan that will help us capture that alien scum. I'll do all the dirty work, you just get the pleasure of capturing him." Dib raised an eyebrow as he listened...it was all beginning to sound a little TOO good to be true. "My plan is as simple as this: I convince him that I'm another invader out to conquer the planet. He falls for my feminine charms, and then when he's far enough into the trap, WHAM! It's from there.." "..to an autopsy table, and then just another tape on Mysterious Mysteries." "You catch on well." Web grinned as he finished her speech for her. The spiky-haired paranormalist grinned back, and then gave a yell as she suddenly pulled on his T-shirt, bringing her face so close to his he could smell her peppermint-scented breath. "I like you, Dibby. I like the way that amazing mind of yours works." she whispered, the bittersweet smile still on her lips as she relaxed her powerful grip and let go. "I'll see you same time tomorrow, I trust." she told him as she turned and disappeared into the chaos of games and fun that was recess. Dib just stood there, trying to figure out if it was a dream or reality. His heart was beating like it had in the classroom, and his mind had gone completely blank, until a single thought wormed its way in. "....Dibby?!"


	4. Chapter Three - Forked Tongue

Author's Notes - Sorry this chapter took longer than the others...I've been very sick for a while and I can't exactly write with a fever and a cold. But I'm recovering now, so chapter 4 should be on its way pretty soon. There's also a chance that there'll be Dib with no shirt on in the next chapter...(rabid fangirls scream) And remember, THE FIC RULES YOU ALL! OBEY THE FIC! =D -=Implosion=-

Chapter Three ~ Forked Tongue

It was time....zero hour already. Zim looked around nervously as if he was waiting for something to pounce on him out of the shadows. The bell for the end of skool had already rang, and the alien was looking around for this so-called 'Invader' who had given him a message in class. There he was, by the dumpsters as planned, but Web didn't seem to have turned up. "It was all just a trick....I can't BELIEVE that I, the mighty ZIM, fell for this stupid worm-baby prank..." He growled as he clenched his fist in anger and frustration. "So you really think this is a trick, Zim?" The irken broke out of his fit of anger to look behind him, and gasped as he saw Web standing there, smiling. "YOU!" "Yes, me. I guess you didn't believe that there's another invader here on Earth. But I must say, the amount of progress you've made is TERRIBLE...not one slave, fire, or even an Irken flag anywhere. No wonder the Tallest sent me here to assist you." The short invader turned several shades paler, which simply made her smile even more, as if she was feeding on his fear. "The Tallest think that I, ZIM, need help?!" "Indeed, they do. It was most generous of them to send me on this top secret mission, even after I...um...accidentally crashed my Voot Runner into their base.." She whispered as she turned away in embarrassment. As Zim stared at Web, he couldn't help but notice how strangely attracted he was to her, and stared into nothingness as his mind wandered into a void of meaningless thoughts and confused feelings. "Are you LISTENING?!" There was a loud, metallic thump as the bicolor haired girl's fist collided with the side of one of the dumpsters. Zim awoke from his thoughts with a frown, and was about to have another tantrum like he usually did when annoyed, but his flames of anger were quenched by his fellow Irken's cool, calm voice and sly smile. "The time for fits of rage is not now, Zim. Let us simply get to the point...in other words, my plan to get rid of the Dib-human." Web's sinister smile broadened as the invader's eyes lit up at the words. He couldn't tell if this was reality or some kind of fantastic dream...he was finally going to get that worm-baby exterminated like the vermin he was. A demonic grin crossed the face of Zim, who was now once again wringing his gloved hands in sick, twisted joy. "I apologize for my actions, Invader Web. Please, do continue. I await your plans with eager anticipation."

Meanwhile, at the Membrane household, Dib had already arrived home. Trapped in his own little world of thought again, he lay on the couch doing hardly anything...something he hadn't done in a long time since he'd met Zim. "Why can't I stop thinking about her?" he said to himself out loud. He'd tried thinking of something else, but Web's image kept appearing out of nowhere, smiling at him in that same bittersweet way. "I like you Dibby. I like the way you think." she'd say, before disappearing again into the depths of his brain. It was all very strange...he'd never felt this way about a girl before. It was exactly the same feelings he experienced when star-gazing, but much stronger. Could it possibly be....love? "Nah...couldn't be." Dib thought as his logical mind took over. "Why would anyone ever care about me anyway? Everyone who ever did care has either gone, or has stopped caring because they have themselves to worry about. Is this really how I have to exist? Always and forever alone...?" The spiky-haired boy sighed and sat up as a purple-haired girl entered from the kitchen, can of Poop Cola in hand. "Gaz....can I ask you a question?" he said, rather nervously, as Gaz popped open the can and took a small sip. "Whatever this is, Dib, it had better be good." she said sourly and took another drink. "What should you do if you think a girl likes you?" Dib was suddenly drenched in a shower of cola as his sister suddenly spat out her drink, her brown eyes wide, as if her brother had just said he'd put cyanide in her drink. She looked at him, still in a state of shock, as he frowned and wiped some liquid off his face with the dryer side of a black sleeve. "What did you say?" "What should you do if you think a girl likes you?" Dib repeated on command. "OW!" a cry of pain filled the once silent room as Gaz threw the half-empty can at her brother's head, covering his T-shirt with a brown stain. "Don't be an IDIOT, Dib." she spat angrily. "Why would any girl EVER be interested in someone as annoying as YOU?!" The raven-haired paranormalist hopped off the sofa and made his way upstairs to clean up. "Maybe Gaz is right...maybe Web doesn't like me after all.."

"You're going to try and seduce that...thing?!" Zim stared at Web in a mixture of shock and amazement. "What a sacrifice...I salute you!" The green-skinned child wiggled his antennae in the traditional Irken salute, forgetting he was wearing a wig, which promptly fell off. The black-clad girl gave an amused giggle as the alien smiled sheepishly and adjusted his hairpiece. And then gasped as Web suddenly grabbed him by the shirt and pinned him against the side of the dumpster, her eyes narrowed, yet with that same smile plastered across her pale face. "You're a bad boy, Zim. You're a REALLY bad boy. And guess what?" Zim tried to fight back, or at least respond to her question, but he seemed rooted to the spot as her dark purple eyes looked directly into his. "I like bad boys. Like you, Invader Zim." she whispered calmly as she released her grip on the invader's uniform, leaving him gasping for air, his snake-like tongue hanging out of his mouth. "We'll rendezvous at my base later tonight. Be there, Zim." Web shoved a small card covered in alien writing into her fellow irken's gloved hand, before turning and running into the crowded street...gone even before he could bid her farewell. Looking at the card, which gave him directions to Web's base in irken script, for a few seconds, the invader sighed and made his way home. Secretly hoping that GIR hadn't destroyed the place while he was absent.

But somewhere in the back streets of the city, in a dark alleyway, a certain black-and white haired girl was wringing her hands like Zim had just minutes ago, grinning like a Cheshire Cat. He was just like a little puppet to her...yank his strings and watch him dance. "Yesssss....dance for me, dance, dance...because soon you will dance no longer, my little puppet." she hissed, before letting loose a wicked laugh and vanishing into the shadows, her menacing cackles still echoing throughout the darkness.


	5. Chapter Four - Meeting At Midnight

Author's Notes - Well, here it is again, chapter four. I'm a lot happier with the way it's turned out this time around, especially since it's almost twice as long as it was before. This one's got a lot more angst and violence than the last three chapters, but it's also got plenty of romance. Oh, and there's some shirtless-Dibby stuff in the first part for all you Dib-lovers. ^_^ It's just too CUUUUUTE!!! Oh, and if you have any questions regarding what I've written, or you just wanna talk to me (Pleeeeeze? I'm so lonely..=( *sad puppy eyes*) just leave a review or e-mail me at implosion07@hotmail.com . Thanks for your time, on with the fic! -=Implosion=-

Chapter Four ~ Meeting At Midnight

Dib lay on his bed, still thinking about that same wicked, yet innocent girl that had plagued his brain the entire evening...he had been so wrapped up in the blanket of his own thoughts, that he didn't even blink when his sibling punched him in the arm for 'breathing too loudly'. The raven haired boy didn't seem to notice that he'd been there for hours, staring at the same four walls, their black paint he had almost forgotten smothered with posters that reflected his obsession like mirrors. The obsession with the paranormal that he'd had ever since his mom passed away...fueled even more so by the vague memories of alien abduction. He never could figure out if those were real memories, or figments of his imagination forced to be real by his own troubled mind. Looking at a particular picture over on the right wall, a black poster bearing "EARTH NEEDS YOU!" in neon purple letters and the symbol of the secretive 'Swollen Eyeballs', he sighed. Dib turned his glance away from that wall, as just looking at the purple symbol made him feel worse...he was the lowest rank possible in the association, as everything he had ever tried to do to impress his fellow eyeballs had failed miserably. "In fact, EVERYTHING I've ever tried to do to impress ANYONE has crashed and burned.." The thought didn't make him feel any better, so he rolled over and curled up into a ball, helpless and alone.

A dim, blue-green light reading '11:50' reflected itself off his glasses. An early bedtime for someone who was so used to staying up far into the early hours of the morn, watching the stars until the sun rose, frightening them away like a flock of shining white birds fleeing from the hunter's first shot. Turning on his UFO bedside lamp to see what he was doing, Dib started talking to himself for lack of anything better to do, one of the many depressing effects of having no friends. "Why would Web ever like me?" The young conspiracy theorist mused as he pulled off his blue T-shirt, the same black-clad girl he'd met just that day still on his mind. "I mean, all the girls love manly, macho guys like Torque...why would anyone want an underfed stick insect like me walking them to school..?" He looked in the mirror, the only space on the wall not plastered with a second skin of alien posters, at the thin, white, fragile thing that somehow passed itself off as his torso. It was no big wow to him that there were black and blue bruises, accompanied by one or two small scratches, dotted here and there across his pale form. After all, this was how he'd always been....weak. A prime target for bullies, and a punchbag for Gaz to take her anger out on whenever her icy heart desired, simply because he had neither the strength of body nor strength of heart to stand up to his tormentors. Dib yawned as he finished getting undressed, slipping on his alien print pajamas, removing his huge, circular glasses as he crawled in between his blankets, which were as starry as the night sky itself. "Who would ever want me anyway?" A single tear stained the faded face of his old I.T plushie, which gave a comforting squeak as he snuggled up closer to it and turned off his lamp. "Yeah...who would ever want me..." These were the raven-haired boy's last words before he drifted into the realm of dreamless sleep, his journal still sitting on the bedside table, ignored and forgotten.

A small building with white walls, a brown tiled roof, and a small front yard with a stone path running through the middle surrounded by a wooden fence...it all seemed perfectly normal from the outside apart from the fact it was between two huge skyscrapers. But only Zim knew what awaited him inside, as this was Web's base. "Or at least this is where she said it was..." he thought as he remembered the crumpled scrap of paper that he still clasped tightly in his gloved hand, an address scribbled on it in messy irken script. He was still waiting for the midnight hour, as that was when his fellow invader wanted to meet him. The pale silver light of the full moon flooding the street, the whistling of the icy wind, and the owl that watched the alien's every move from atop the fence created an eerie sight that was already working its magic on Zim. Shivering, the short irken jumped as a loud, low clang crossed the night air...it was the first stroke of midnight, the dawn of the witching hour. Turning round, he started to slowly make his way up the path, his boot heels echoing through the scene as he tried to swallow the nervous feeling that had just overwhelmed him. "I can't understand what's wrong with me.." he thought as he reached out a claw-like finger to press the doorbell. "I am an irken invader! Invaders are never supposed to be nervous about anything!!" The door suddenly opened as if by magic, and the alien turned his square head to see who or what had done it, his body still frozen in the same position. "I've been expecting you." Zim's red eyes widened as he heard the familiar voice of Web, and felt his jaw drop as he gawked at what stood before him. What he saw was not the girl with the black and white hair he'd seen at skool, what he saw was another irken. It wasn't the first time he'd seen a female invader, even though they were a rarity since they usually lacked the aggressive nature that was desired for the task, but he couldn't call her an invader, oh no, the only name he could give to this creature was the perfect example of irken beauty. Her deep purple eyes, the same dark color as the night sky on his home planet, were like a pair of precious stones set in her pale, pastel-green face. Zim didn't notice Web glowering at him as he admired her thin, wiry antennae that curled into hexagonal spirals at the tips, and her uniform, slightly different from his, that made her look so....sexy. Still in zombie-mode, his tongue dangling from his open mouth and a thin trickle of drool worming its way down his chin, he didn't realize that Web was nearing boiling point, fuming with anger. Giving a frustrated "Hmph!" she grabbed hold of his antennae, and ignored the ear-splitting screech as she pulled Zim inside and slammed the door behind her.

Web frowned as she turned to her guest, who was wincing as he rubbed the top of his bald head. She knew what she'd done was harsh, as antennae pulling was used as a punishment or form of torture on Irk, that's why they didn't need thumbscrews or red hot metal rods. But she didn't like being stared at by ANYONE, not even Zim. "Sorry." she said, obviously faking her apology. "I had to snap you out of it somehow...plus, you're not wearing your disguise. You could've been seen." The other invader looked at her through a half-open eye, still in a lot of pain. "Let's just get onto the mission.." he squeaked, trying not to scream from the excruciating pain. The pair wandered over to the sofa and sat down on opposite ends, keeping as far away from each other as possible. They sat there for a few minutes, Zim still nursing his wounds and Web staring at the ceiling and whistling innocently. "The mission?" Zim finally said as he turned towards Web. "Oh, the mission.." she replied, sounding rather bored, before shifting further up the sofa and closer to her guest's end. "You know Zim.." she moved up further, now almost next to him. "I didn't bring you here to talk about the mission. I want to talk about you." The short irken looked into her eyes as if he'd found love at first sight, before twisting his face into a demonic grin, full of malice and revenge. "Talk about THIS!" he yelled, and Web gasped in horror as he lunged for her, grabbing each antennae with a gloved hand and pulling her onto the floor. The pain was INCREDIBLE...the female screeched like nails down a chalkboard, pounding her fists on the floor, as Zim stood on her back, yanking both hyper-sensitive antennae with all his might. The pain was like nothing she'd felt before, it felt like her head was about to explode into a thousand white-hot shards, every nerve in her head was aflame!!! She felt she was surely about to die from it, when she used the last ounce of strength in her mind to try and activate the robotic legs contained within her purple and white utility pack. She smiled in her usual cruel way, even though her eyes were flooding with thick orange tears, as Zim gave a yell and flew off her back as he was hit in the face with the 'spider legs'. "So that's the way you want it, eh, WEB?!" She had only just got up when she saw that her former guest's robotic legs were also unfolding, and there was a look of pure hatred on his face. Web brushed away the tears and prepared for a battle, one-on-one..

It was a terrible sight in the living room that had been turned into a temporary battleground mere minutes ago, the blue and white paint on the walls was scratched in various places, and the photograph of Web and her SIR, GIRA, in their disguises lay torn in its shattered frame. Purple blood, so dark it looked almost black, stained the white carpeted floor in small patches, most of which lay next to the two exhausted irkens who were both nursing small injuries. "You fight well.." Zim said weakly, one hand over the eye that his opponent had punched. "So do you.." said Web, who appeared to have the worst injuries, as she was cradling her arm that had more dark blood pouring from a large gash. The male invader felt a sharp pang in his chest that he'd never felt before. He knew it wasn't pain, but a little voice in his head kept telling him to get up and help his fellow irken. Slightly annoyed at the little voice, he got up and walked over to her. "Are you alright?" Zim could've slapped himself in the face...it really was a stupid question..after all, she was bleeding quite heavily, plus it wasn't like him to say something as mushy as that. Web looked up at him and gave a weak smile. "I've had worse. It's only a scratch compared to what I've had on previous missions.." The pair looked into each other's eyes for a moment. Even though she was covered in bruises and scratches, he couldn't help but remember how beautiful she was...he had almost forgotten it when he was overcome with the bloodlust of revenge. Still looking into each others eyes, their antennae made contact almost automatically, and Zim jumped slightly as a tingling feeling like an electric shock passed through his body. Shocking, yes, but he enjoyed it, and he watched Web jump as he returned the favor. Only the moon and the stars witnessed the two lovestruck irkens, united as one in their passionate embrace, and only they heard Zim's silent wish to the heavens to make his first kiss last forever.


	6. Chapter Five - Welcome To The Spider's D...

Author's Notes - Hey everyone...sorry this chapter took so long, I've been sick with the flu so I couldn't get out of bed to write or anything. But I'm okay now, and I'm back with Chapter 5! This chapter's got more humor than the last ones, but there's not too much as to spoil the usually mysterious nature of the overall fic. Oh, and there's also a picture of Web and Dib for you to enjoy at this link: http://www.side7.com/cgi-bin/S7SDB/DisplayImg.pl?INO=105971 A lot of you who are fans of my friend Taryn (aka Spectra) and her art will have seen this already, but for those who haven't yet, then it (and Taryn's other amazing artwork) is well worth a look. And remember, if you have a question (or any Web fanart ^^), just contact me at implosion07@hotmail.com (my other address is no longer working), or just review, and I'll reply ASAP. Thanks! -=Implosion=-

Chapter Five ~ Welcome To The Spider's Den

Lunchtime. That time of day when students would shove cafeteria food down their starving gullets only to end up vomiting their internal organs into the kitchen sink that night. Dib found it hard to believe that he could actually digest the foul slop and live to tell the tale. He looked down for a moment at the mess that was supposed to be his lunch. It didn't even closely resemble what it was supposed to be, which was ketchup and rice, but he put the thoughts of the so-called food aside and looked through his binoculars across to the other side of the lunchroom where Zim was looking bored and poking his lunch with a fork. Neither of the two said anything as something slithered off the alien's tray and squelched its way down the table to freedom. But what Dib noticed was that his nemesis seemed to have been involved in some kind of accident or fight, as parts of his usual magenta uniform were torn and he had several bacon-scented adhesive medical strips covering his face. Dib only wished that he'd been there to laugh at Zim when it happened. "Is it okay if I sit here?" The raven-haired boy dropped his binoculars as he heard a voice, splattering the gray face on his blue T-shirt with food. Looking up, he saw who it was. WEB. "U-u-uhhh...ummm...I-I-I guess so..." His tongue never seemed to work like it should whenever that girl was around. As she sat down, Gaz, who was sitting next to him, gave an annoyed grunt and moved away, still hitting the buttons on her GameSlave with expert speed. She was probably still angry that Web had beaten her hi-score on Vampire Piggy Hunter by 10,000 points at recess. Trying to ignore his sister's jealousy, he turned towards the black-clad girl, as she was now nervously examining something gray with a narrowed eye. "Is the food always this bad?" she asked, looking towards Dib. "Y-You should see the food on mayonnaise and corn day." She grimaced at the words and slowly pushed her tray away with a pale finger as if the contents were going to leap up and bite her hand off. Which, Dib thought, probably would if given half a chance. As they spoke, neither of the young paranormalists noticed that they were being watched from afar, by a certain green-skinned child..

"Aah, Web...that experience last night was truly magical..." Zim sighed dreamily, the alien device he was using to spy on the three pre-teens across the room zoomed in on his fellow invader's face. "But why must I adore you from afar while you're having lunch with that DIB-HUMAN!!" He soon snapped himself out of his lovestruck little trance, giving his poetic sentence a rather abrupt ending. "If I didn't know better, I could swear on my squeedily-spooch that she actually LIKES sitting with that stinkbeast and his worm-baby sister.." The irken's view switched to the face of his enemy, Dib, who appeared to be trying to say something, drool dripping from his mouth and onto the table like a leaky faucet. "I see her plan is working perfectly, though...that human is reduced to a brainless moron whenever she's even near him. Well, more like reduced to an even-more-brainless moron than he already is when she's around.." The alien sighed again, this time with frustration...what was wrong with him? Unnecessary emotions like this were supposed to have been killed during his invader training, so he wouldn't have to think twice before slaughtering any helpless, fuzzy, cute little creatures. Why on Irk were they suddenly acting up whenever he was around Invader Web? And that ritual that humans would call a 'kiss' that they performed the previous night...why did she do that? And why did he, Zim, play along even after she'd pulled his antennae? The green one pushed the questions to the back of his mind, and continued gazing at the face of his sweetheart.

Dib sighed with relief as he left through the door, ending another day of the hell-on-earth that was called skool. He'd narrowly missed being trampled to death when all the other kids in his class charged over to his side of the room and started leaping out of the windows like lemmings, eager to start the weekend. Despite that little incident, he couldn't wait to get home so he could finally forget about the girl that'd been bothering him ever since they first met. Hoisting his bag over one shoulder and whistling a tune he'd heard somewhere (which happened to be the Invader Zim theme song), he started to walk home, when he gave a sudden yell as he felt someone grab his hair-spike and turn him around. It was Web again. "You and me, my house, 9 o'clock." She thrust a scrap of paper into his hand, then looked at the dark scythe she was still grasping tightly. "By the way...I like your hair, Dibby." she said to the shivering boy. Web narrowed her eyes and glanced sideways, letting go of his hair and jumping onto one of the stone walls at either side of the steps with cat-like agility. "Your sister's calling you. Make sure you don't be late." Dib smoothed out his hair and looked around, only to see Gaz walking up to him. "There you are, Dib. What were you doing?" "But didn't you see..?" The trenchcoated boy started as he turned, realizing that Web had disappeared again. "See what, Dib? A chupacabra? Or was it another bigfoot baby?" His sister asked, every word dripping with sarcasm. "Now come on or I'm going without you." she added as she walked away, leaving her brother scratching his head in a confused way.

It was a truly grotesque sight. Web and Dib, their hair and matching trenchcoats blowing in the wind, standing atop a gigantic black and white striped spider, both of them laughing triumphantly as the huge arachnid feasted on the alien organs of Zim, who lay slashed open on the ground in a pool of his own blood that covered the dark soil, his mouth wide open in a muted scream and his scarlet, pupil-less eyes frozen in fear like a deer in the headlights of impending doom, all of this happening beneath a deep scarlet sky filled with lightning and orange-tinted clouds. Web picked up a pencil from the piles of drawing equipment littering her desk and added the last few finishing touches to the Dib-drawing's unusual hairstyle, then signed it 'Web Q. Spinner' with the skill of a true artist. The trenchcoated girl leant back on her chair and observed the fruits of her work. She often couldn't understand why she drew such gruesome pictures...but art was the language of the soul, and she guessed that these disturbing images were the product of the inner demons that haunted her, reminding her that she had no friends. Her white fingers stroked Dib's image gently. He was different from everyone else...she knew he could understand her, even though he was so afraid of showing it. The girl adjusted the lamp on her desk so that it awoke one of the bedroom walls from its slumber of darkness. Every inch of it was covered with drawings, hundreds of them...some of them gory like her newest one...others, scenes so beautiful that they would be possible only in fiction. She held up the drawing and pinned it onto the wall with tacks, admiring her latest work in its new gallery, right in the middle...where she could see it. Web could've stood there for hours, doing nothing but admiring her masterpiece, but it was then that the alarm on her digital clock went off. She frowned and hit it hard with her fist, as if it had just awoken her from a wonderful dream, and headed downstairs.

Dib looked at his wristwatch. "8:59...only a minute to go.." He thought to himself fearfully, as if he was awaiting execution in those next sixty seconds. He didn't know why he'd actually come, since he was always very scared around the mysterious girl, but then reminded himself that if he hadn't turned up, she could quite easily rip his head off and spit down his throat the next day at skool. He massaged his neck nervously at the thought...the idea of being decapitated by Web didn't exactly make him feel better. Slowly, the boy reached up and rang the doorbell, which chimed 'La Cucaracha' merrily as he waited for someone to answer. As he waited, he couldn't help but remember what his sister had said to him before he left..

~~~~Previously~~~~

The purple-haired girl put down her GameSlave for once in a very long time, a crude picture of the piggy slayer hacking hordes of bloodthirsty swine into bits with a long, silver blade still visible on the dimly lit screen, and the pixellated blood frozen in mid-splatter as the word 'PAUSE' brought the game to a temporary halt. She walked over to her brother, who had his hand reaching for the doorknob very slowly, as if there was some kind of hideous beast awaiting him on the other side. The same sour expression molded into her face like a mask, she spoke in a hushed tone. "You're going to see that Web-girl, aren't you?" Dib turned his head slowly to look at her, an expression of pure fear on his face, and Gaz could tell that he was thinking she was going to beat him up again. She would've smiled, since her sibling's fear fed the inner darkness that had long ago consumed her soul like a mother's milk. But this time, she had other things on her mind. "You should stay away from her. No mere mortal could beat my hi-score at Vampire Piggy Hunter...it's like she's some kind of genetically engineered super-kid." The boy looked at her strangely, an onyx eyebrow raised in a mix of confusion and suspicion. "But don't think this means I care. I just don't want some other girl competing for my position as your eternal tormentor." The girl snarled, her expression still the same when Dib recoiled like a bug about to be stepped on as she loomed over him like some kind of gothic princess of doom. All she heard was the swish of a trenchcoat and the slam of a door as she wandered back over to her favorite spot on the couch, her GameSlave calling her. Gaz sighed in bliss as the mind-numbing effects of the hand-held device suppressed the secret concerns she had about her brother like a wonderful drug. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dib jumped as the memory ended abruptly with the sound of a door being opened. He turned his head slowly to see that Web was standing there, leaning against the doorframe casually, the smirk on her face just like the kind of smirk a cobra might give before it sinks its venomous fangs into your tender flesh. "Hi." she said, taking a step towards him, eyes of brown and purple locked together in a gaze that the young paranormalist was itching to break away from, but couldn't, since the girl's eyes seemed to draw him inwards like a siren's song. The bespectacled boy then gave a short yell of suprise as a strong hand grabbed him by the collar and yanked him inside, slamming the door behind him. "Come, Dibby. We have much to discuss." The raven-haired boy gasped (something he'd been doing a lot recently) as he saw the mysterious girl on the stairs, beckoning to him. Normally, he would've stopped to think about how she could move so fast, but since he knew it would mean being dragged upstairs by force, he could do nothing but follow his fellow conspiracy theorist like Alice following the white rabbit. "And it's probably going to end just like that scene..." he thought. "I'll end up trapped in a world of insanity and weird...weirdy...weird stuff." Dib quickly made a mental note to get himself a Thesaurus as the two finished walking along the hallway, which was painted with such a cheerful-looking blue that it was almost frightening. There was photograph of Web on the wall, standing next to a woman he'd never seen before. She shared the same bi-color hair as the girl next to her, but her square-goggled eyes were deep emerald instead of purple, and she was wearing a lab-coat that covered the lower half of her face, like his dad's. He glanced at it nervously....the eyes seemed to be following him. "That's my mom." The trenchcoated boy looked to his right, where Web was now standing, looking up at the picture. "She's all I've got left since dad died. I was too young to remember him that well, but I know he must've loved both of us. Ever since then, I hardly ever see mom any more....and ever since we moved here, she's become even more obsessed with her work." He noticed something about the black-clad girl as she turned her glance to the floor...her smile was as if it had never existed, and her dark eyes had a look to them that he'd seen many times in his reflection. It was then Dib realized....he wasn't the only one who knew the pain of growing up alone. He wanted to put a hand on her shoulder...just to do something to show that he understood, but he was far too nervous around Web to talk to her, let alone touch her. His fellow paranormalist wiped a tear from her eye, gave a quiet "Let's go..." and slowly twisted the knob, the 'Trespassers Will Be Vaporized' sign swinging gently as her bedroom door opened.

Dib stepped in slowly, the wave of an echo spreading throughout the ocean of silence as the door slammed behind him. He could barely see a thing, with the only light being the pale silver of the moon and stars shining through the skylight in the far corner of the room, casting shadows on the wall that loomed over everything like huge black guards. Wandering around blindly in the seemingly infinite darkness, a feeling suddenly came over him....as if he could sense another, invisible presence there in the room with him. Then he heard the noise....a thump, and a rustle...a thump, and a rustle...a thump, and a rustle...it seemed to be getting louder, faster....CLOSER. Thump, rustle, thump, rustle, thump, rustle...Dib's eyes frantically darted from side to side, his heart beating so fast he could hear it, joining the thump and rustle to form some kind of demonic melody. Whatever was making the sound, it was coming....coming for HIM. The raven-haired boy inched backwards more and more towards the moonlit corner, trying desperately to escape...but it was too late that he realized his mistake. He was trapped...there was nowhere to run now. Thump, rustle, thump, rustle, thump...the young paranormalist could only press his body as far back against the wall as it would go, waiting for the inevitable doom that was moving ever closer. His lower lip trembled...he could see the eyes, a pair of shining pupil-less eyes right in front of his face...he was surely about to faint...when suddenly, the entire room burst into light, and he screamed like he'd never screamed before as he saw....IT. The boy was then suddenly cut off as a pale hand thrust itself over his open mouth, muffling his cry. Dib dared to open an eye....it was Web, who had a look of concern apparent on her face, and the thing was hanging limply from her free hand, its dark eyes empty and unmoving...it appeared to be dead. "Sorry I scared you like that..." she apologized as she took her hand away. "I guess I should've turned the lights on before showing you my alien disguise. Either that or I made it a little TOO realistic.." The raven haired boy got up and adjusted his glasses (something he had a habit of doing when nervous), before asking "Y...you made that?" "Yeah." Web replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Made from a special new material my mom developed. It appears to bleed, sweat, and do anything else that 'normal' alien skin would do." The girl smiled at his narrowed eye, not seeming to notice he was looking at her strangely. "You tend to pick these things up when your parent's a scientist...but you wouldn't really understand." "I do." Dib clamped his hand over his mouth as if his mouth suddenly had a mind of its own and was spewing out his innermost feelings and secrets for all to hear, and his face drained of color again like water down a pipe as the black-clad looked at him, her eyes filled with curiosity. "You do? We really need to talk some more." Web smiled, walking across the starry black carpet, and over to the corner of the purple-painted room where the skylight was. She pulled on a rope, revealing a rope ladder that led up to the ceiling, and turned back to the young paranormalist. "I think maybe we should talk up here. You coming?" Dib just remained as silent as before, following the girl up the ladder and out of the skylight, trying to ignore the rather hungry-looking glare from the tarantula, which was left alone in its glass tank, denied its dinner by the four barriers that imprisoned it.

Dib took a deep breath of the cool night air as he climbed through the skylight and onto the roof, the invisible fingers of a breeze running through his hair and stroking his face. The tiny white specks, suspended in the huge blanket of the night, seemed to wink at him as he looked upwards. It was almost as if those balls of gas burning billions of miles away were his friends, keeping him adrift in the ocean of confusion that flooded his mind whenever that mysterious girl was around. Many would usually feel tiny and insignificant under the watchful eyes of the shining giants far above them, but for him, it made him feel like he had a purpose in life...like he'd finally found the place where he belonged, up there with the stars and the planets. The trenchcoated boy shook himself out of his little world of thought...he'd almost forgotten what he was doing while his head was stuck in the clouds. Web had already wandered over to the edge of the roof, and was sitting down, notebook in hand, drawing. Slowly, Dib walked over to the black-clad girl and sat down next to her, but still keeping his distance, like she was a vicious beast to be approached with extreme caution. "So..." the female paranormalist started, looking straight at him. "You want to...y'know, tell me some more about yourself? I'd like to get to know you better, Dib...you...interest me." The trenchcoated boy gulped nervously as she finished the sentence...he'd never been asked that question before...so what should he say? What should he do?! He tugged on the collar of his T-shirt, which was now completely drenched with his own sweat, looked down, away from the girl, and began. "W-well, there isn't really that m-m-much to say...y-you've already met my sister, Gaz...oh, and m-my dad's a s-s-scientist too...he has his own TV show.." The raven-haired boy looked back at Web, who was looking at him with one eyebrow raised. "You're...Prof. Membrane's son?" she asked. "Well...um...yeah..." Dib turned his gaze back down to his feet again...if he got any more nervous he was probably going to faint, unless he drowned in his own sweat first...his hair scythe was already beginning to droop from being soaked with it. He risked a sideways glance at the black-clad girl, who was sighing and looking up at the sky, talking to herself. "I mean, he's Prof. Membrane's son, THE Prof. Membrane's son...he's probably the most popular kid in skool...why would he want to be friends with a nobody like me..?" The young paranormalist could've sworn his heart skipped a beat as soon as he heard that one word...friends. She wanted to be his friend...all his life he had dreamed of this... it was all he'd ever really wanted...and his call had finally been answered after years of suffering and loneliness. And yet, it still all seemed too good to be true... "You want to be....friends?" Web looked at him in shock as he finished his question...which flooded his brain with even more feelings of wonder. Could it be possible that she had no friends? Could it be possible that he wasn't alone anymore? But his questions were answered when he felt a tingle run up his spine, as Web's hand touched his. "Yes..." she replied. Dib turned his head to face her, and gave a rare smile...not the wicked, triumphant smile he'd give when he foiled Zim's plans, but a smile filled with a warmth that had been dormant...sleeping inside his soul ever since his mom died. A shooting star drew its line of light momentarily across the starry sky as the friends held hands, and it was then that Dib realized that he'd found more than friendship that night...

He was in love.


End file.
